HOW
HISTORIC PROPERTIES ARE LISTED IN
THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES

Who Administers the National Register Program?

The National Register of Historic Places is a list maintained
by the National Park Service of buildings, structures, sites,
objects, and districts that are significant in American history,
architecture, archaeology, engineering, and culture, and that
meet criteria for evaluation established by the National
Historic
Preservation
Act of 1966. Nominations to the National Register
are submitted from each of the states by the State Historic
Preservation
Officer (SHPO). In North Carolina, the SHPO is the Deputy Secretary for
the Office of Archives and
History, Department of Cultural
Resources. The section that administers the National Register and
related programs is
the State Historic
Preservation Office (HPO). The personnel of
the State Historic Preservation Office serve as staff for the
SHPO in National Register activities and duties.

In every state, a review board examines potential nominations
and makes recommendations to the SHPO regarding the eligibility
of properties and the adequacy of nominations. These boards are
composed of professional historians, archaeologists, architectural
historians, and architects as well as other citizens having a
demonstrated interest and expertise in historic preservation. In North
Carolina,
the review board is called the National Register Advisory Committee
(NRAC), and includes both professional members and citizen members
appointed from the North Carolina Historical Commission. The
NRAC meets three times per year (the second Thursday of February, June,
and
October) to consider the eligibility of properties for nomination to
the
National Register (See National Register
Calendar). Nominations prepared under the supervision
of the HPO staff and approved by the NRAC are forwarded to the
Keeper of the National Register in the National Park Service in
Washington, D.C. Final authority to list properties in the National
Register resides with the National Park Service.

How are Eligible Properties Identified?

Properties and districts that may be eligible for the
National
Register are usually brought to the attention of the HPO staff
and the NRAC either (1) through a county or community survey of
historic properties co-sponsored by the State Historic Preservation
Office and a local government or organization; (2) by interested
individuals who provide preliminary information about properties
to the HPO staff; or (3) through historic property surveys conducted
as part of the environmental review process.

Persons who seek National Register listing for properties
that
have not been previously evaluated for eligibility may submit a Study
List
Application to the HPO. If adequate information and photographs
of the property are included with the application, the
NRAC will consider the property at its next meeting.
If in the opinion of the NRAC the property appears to be potentially
eligible for the National Register, it is placed on the Study
List. This action by the NRAC authorizes the HPO staff to work
with the owner to coordinate a formal nomination of the property
to the National Register.

The NRAC can best evaluate the eligibility of an individual
property
within the context of a community-wide or regional inventory of
historic or prehistoric properties. This provides a basis for
comparing the relative significance of similar types of historic
or prehistoric properties in a community or region. In counties
or communities where no such inventory has been assembled, the
NRAC will sometimes find it necessary to defer a decision about
the eligibility of an individual property until a comprehensive
survey of historic properties has taken place. Likewise, the NRAC
may consider some properties as contributing components within
larger districts but not as individually eligible. Information
about
grants to local governments for local historic property
surveys and nominations is available from the State Historic
Preservation
Office.

What is a National Register Nomination?

A National Register nomination is a scholarly and
authoritative
document that thoroughly describes and evaluates a property's
setting and physical characteristics, documents its history, assesses
its significance in terms of its historic context, and demonstrates
how it specifically meets National Register criteria
for
evaluation.
It is supported by professional quality black and white photographs,
maps delineating the property's boundaries, and other materials
and information. The nomination must be prepared according to
federal and state guidelines.

Who Prepares National Register Nominations?

Most nominations are prepared by private consultants hired
either
by individual property owners or by local governments or organizations.
Nominations of archaeological sites are sometimes prepared by
professional archaeologists as part of their on-going research.
HPO National Register staff is responsible for reviewing, editing,
and processing nominations prepared in these ways. Due to the
great demand for National Register nominations, the small HPO
staff is unable to prepare nominations as a public service.

An owner of a Study List property who seeks to have it listed
in the National Register may hire a private consultant to prepare
the nomination. A list of qualified
consultants [this list is in
Adobe Acrobat Reader format] is available from
the State Historic Preservation Office. HPO staff cannot quote
fees, and fees will vary depending on the consultant and the complexity
of the nomination. An owner may expect to pay a professional historian,
architectural historian, or archaeologist the equivalent of 40
to 80 hours of time at a professional hourly wage.

Some owners are interested in preparing their own nominations
and are capable of doing so. A packet that includes the NPS instruction
manual, the supplementary state instruction manual, and sample
nominations may be purchased from the State Historic Preservation
Office for $15.00. The level of description, historical documentation,
analysis, and writing in every nomination must meet accepted
professional
standards. The SHPO will not submit substandard nominations to
Washington, and HPO staff cannot make major revisions or provide
detailed critiques of inadequate nominations. Because documentation
of archaeological properties always involves excavation, analysis,
and interpretation requiring specialized training, nominations
of archaeological properties are always prepared by professional
archaeologists.

What Happens to the Finished Nomination?

The nomination is reviewed by members of the National
Register
Advisory Committee at one of the regular meetings. If
the NRAC recommends that the nomination be submitted to the National
Register, it is signed by the State Historic Preservation Officer
and forwarded to the Keeper of the National Register. At the National
Register office, the nomination is reviewed and the decision to
list or not list is made within not less than 15 and not more
than 45 days of receipt. If the property is listed, the HPO will
notify the owner and provide a certificate stating that the property
has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Owners
who desire plaques may order them from private commercial suppliers.
The HPO does not provide plaques or recommend any particular supplier,
but a list of manufacturers is available on request.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: National
Register CoordinatorSurvey and Planning Branch
State Historic Preservation Office
Office of Archives and History
4617 Mail Service Center, Raleigh NC 27699-4617
See the branch page for the telephone number of the staff person for
your county.

The National Register program is governed
by the following federal
and state rules and regulations: 36CFR Part 60 (interim rule),
36CFR Part 61 (final rule), and North Carolina Administrative
Code T07: 04R .0300.